National statistics

Farm Business Income by type of farm in England 2022/23

Updated 14 March 2024

Applies to England

Data on Farm Business Income are used to monitor and evaluate Government policies and to inform wider research into the economic performance, productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural industry. The data are also widely used by the industry for benchmarking.

This release provides survey results of Farm Business Income, covering the 2022 harvest and including the 2022 Basic Payment (as this contributes to Farm Business Income). The survey period is March 2022 to the end of February 2023. These results replace the forecast estimates published on 2 March 2023. The data contributing to this report can be found on the main release page.

In simple terms, Farm Business Income is the output generated by the farm business minus total farm costs. For the full definition of Farm Business Income see 6.3 of the (Technical note).

Due to the correction of a data error, the average Farm Business Income on dairy farms has been revised from £229,300 to £229,200. Linked to this, agricultural variable costs on dairy farms and income from diversified activities both increased by £3,500. Average agri-environment payments fell slightly (by less than £100). The correction involved an update to the survey weighting for dairy farms and this resulted in very small changes for some other farm types. On general cropping farms fertiliser costs fell very slightly (by less than £100). On specialist pig farms the average return on agricultural activities was £100 less than previously estimated and on mixed farms the average return on diversified activities was also £100 lower than originally estimated. A keying error on the percentage increase to diversified income for horticulture farms has also been corrected (there is no change to the actual diversified income value).

Key results

• In 2022/23, exceptional price volatility, in terms of both input costs and output revenue was a key factor determining incomes. The average Farm Business Income was lower compared to 2021/22 for general cropping, grazing livestock, both lowland and those in Less Favoured Areas (LFA), poultry and mixed farms.
• On cereal farms, average Farm Business Income rose by 25% to £150,400 with a combination of increased yields and firm prices more than offsetting rises across most input costs. For general cropping farms, a 14% fall in Farm Business Icome to £125,200 was driven by the reduced Basic Payment and lower agricultural output.
• On dairy farms, average Farm Business Income increased by nearly two thirds to £229,200. A substantial rise in output was driven by output from milk rising by 48% as a result of higher prices. This more than offset rises to input costs.
• Increased costs (particularly machinery, contract costs and feed) and lower agricultural output were major influencing factors on average Farm Business Income for grazing livestock farms which fell by 37% for lowland farms to £21,600 and by 41% for those in the LFA to £25,400.
• On specialist pig farms, average Farm Business Income increased to £67,900 with higher output from pig enterprises (reflecting improved prices for store and finished animals), crops and diversification activities offsetting substantial cost rises, particularly for feed. Average Farm Business Income on specialist poultry farms fell to £105,900; an increase to egg output was not enough to offset higher costs (notably feed) and a fall in both crop output and revenue from diversified activities.
• The progressive reduction to the Basic Payment was introduced in 2021. In 2022/23 across all farms types the average payment received was approximately £22,700. This was 19% lower than 2021/22 and accounted for around a quarter of Farm Business Income.

1 Farm Business Income by farm type

Figure 1.1 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) by farm type, with 95% confidence intervals in England, 2021/22 to 2022/23

Figure notes:

1. The legend is presented in the same order as the bars

2. The 95% confidence intervals for Specialist Poultry, Specialist Pigs and Horticulture are extremely wide which indicates less confidence in the estimates due to the small sample sizes, the range of enterprises covered and a few influential farms; the results should be treated with caution

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Table 1.1 Average Farm Business Income per farm at current prices (£/farm)

Farm type	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	% change from 2021/22 to 2022/23
Cereals	£71,700	£120,100	£150,400	25%
General Cropping	£66,900	£145,400	£125,200	-14%
Dairy	£92,500	£140,200	£229,200	63%
Grazing Livestock (Lowland)	£18,400	£34,000	£21,600	-37%
Grazing Livestock (LFA)	£33,400	£42,900	£25,400	-41%
Specialist Pigs	£48,000	£11,800	£67,900	477%
Specialist Poultry	£77,700	£138,100	£105,900	-23%
Mixed	£40,200	£74,000	£68,000	-8%
Horticulture	£52,900	£60,600	£95,600	58%
All Types	£51,900	£86,100	£96,100	12%

Table note: Figures are rounded to the nearest £100

Table 1.2 Average Farm Business Income per farm in real terms at 2022/23 prices (£/farm)

Farm type	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	% change from 2021/22 to 2022/23
Cereals	£75,900	£128,100	£150,400	17%
General Cropping	£70,800	£155,100	£125,200	-19%
Dairy	£97,800	£149,600	£229,200	53%
Grazing Livestock (Lowland)	£19,500	£36,300	£21,600	-41%
Grazing Livestock (LFA)	£35,300	£45,700	£25,400	-44%
Specialist Pigs	£50,800	£12,600	£67,900	441%
Specialist Poultry	£82,200	£147,300	£105,900	-28%
Mixed	£42,600	£78,900	£68,000	-14%
Horticulture	£56,000	£64,700	£95,600	48%
All Types	£55,000	£91,800	£96,100	5%

Table notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100

2. Real terms prices use the latest GDP deflator data, published 29 September 2023 at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/timeseries/ybgb

1.1 Cereal Farms

Figure 1.2 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for cereal farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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On cereal farms, average Farm Business Income increased by a quarter in 2022/23 to £150,400 (Table 1.1 and Figure 1.2 for a comparison to all farms over time). The increase was primarily driven by higher crop output, most noticeably from wheat, barley and oilseed rape. Generally favourable conditions resulted in increased yields and the average area per farm of wheat and oilseed rape was also larger. These factors combined with higher prices and tight global supplies (both influenced by the war in Ukraine) led to a 36% rise in overall crop output. This rise more than offset increased input costs, which rose across the board. Variable costs were 31% higher with substantial increases to fertilisers (which rose by 56% reflecting uncertainties around supplies in Europe and higher energy prices), contract costs and crop protection costs. The main rises to fixed costs were for machinery and general farming costs which increased by 26% and 25% respectively. Overall, cereal farms achieved a positive return on their agricultural activities of £80,200 (Figure 3.1) compared to £54,900 in 2021/22. At £11,600, income from agri-environment activities nearly doubled compared to the previous year while the Basic Payment fell by 9%. Income from diversified activities was £26,000, 11% higher than 2021/22.

1.2 General Cropping Farms

Figure 1.3 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for General Cropping farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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The average Farm Business Income for general cropping farms fell by 14% in 2022/23 to £125,200 (Table 1.1 or Figure 1.3 for a comparison to all farms over time). In value terms, the Basic Payment cost centre saw the biggest reduction with the second year of progressive reduction to the payment compounded by a smaller average farm area compared to 2021/22. Combined, these factors resulted in a £15,300 (31%) reduction to the average payment. When considered on a per hectare (rather than per farm basis) the Basic Payment was 18% lower. Agricultural output per farm fell by 5% with higher output from barley, other cereals and oilseed rape offset by decreases for other crops, sugar beet and potatoes (which were impacted by the summer drought conditions and, for sugar beet, also winter frosts). As with cereal farms, there was a substantial rise to fertiliser costs which increased by 31%, although this was mitigated by falls for some other inputs such as seed, other crop costs and regular labour. Overall, agricultural costs fell, but to a lesser extent than output meaning the return from agricultural activities was 7% lower than 2021/22. There was virtually no change in income from diversified activities with increases in output from renewable energy, other diversified activities, food processing and retailing offsetting lower output from recreation and building rental. Income from the agri-environment cost centre fell by 6%.

1.3 Dairy Farms

Figure 1.4 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for Dairy farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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For dairy farms average Farm Business Income was £229,200, an increase of 63% compared to 2021/22 (Table 1.1 or Figure 1.4 for a comparison to all farms over time). A large increase in agricultural output was almost entirely driven by a rise in output from milk and milk products of 48%. Whilst the average volume of milk per cow was little changed compared to 2021/22, the average number of animals increased slightly and price of milk, supported by tight supplies during the year, rose by 41% to 46.5 pence per litre. It is important to note the wide variation in milk prices with some farmers receiving considerably more or less than the average. This increase was more than enough to offset a fall in crop output of 20% and rises across a range of input costs. Variable costs increased by just over a third, most notably for purchased feed and fodder which was 45% higher and fertiliser costs which rose by 85%. The average Basic Payment fell by just under a quarter to £21,700 while agri-environment payments were £7,400, a 56% increase compared to 2021/22. At £14,000, the net contribution of diversified activities to Farm Business Income was 19% higher, largely driven by combination of lower fixed costs and an increase in rental income (Figure 3.1).

1.4 Lowland Grazing Livestock Farms

Figure 1.5 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for Lowland Grazing Livestock farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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Compared to 2021/22, the average Farm Business Income on lowland grazing livestock farms fell by 37% to £21,600 with higher input costs the primary driver (Table 1.1 or Figure 1.5 for a comparison to all farms over time). Variable costs rose by 6% with contract costs and fodder experiencing the biggest increases. Higher machinery costs (fuels, oil and depreciation) and general farming costs were key factors in a 16% increase to fixed costs. At the same time, agricultural output was 3% lower, although a fall in output from livestock was partially mitigated by an increase from cropping activities. Output from cattle enterprises, which typically make up the largest proportion of livestock output on lowland farms, fell by 2%. This was due to a slightly lower stocking rate and less animals sold as, on average, prices were higher for both finished and store animals compared to 2021/22. Sheep output also fell following a strong 2021/22 with lower average prices and, similar to cattle, less animals sold. The Basic Payment was 14% lower than the previous year, at £13,800 it equated to 64% of total Farm Business Income on this type of farm (Figure 3.1).

1.5 LFA Grazing Livestock Farms

Figure 1.6 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for LFA Grazing Livestock farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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On LFA grazing livestock farms average Farm Business Income fell by 41% to £25,400 (Table 1.1 or Figure 1.6 for a comparison to all farms over time). The fall reflects lower output from livestock while agricultural input costs increased by 5%. In common with other livestock farm types, fodder and contract costs were chief amongst the rises to variable costs, while the key increases to fixed costs were machinery fuels and oils, share of net interest payments and general farming costs. Revenue from sheep enterprises, which tend to make the biggest contribution to livestock output on upland farms, fell by 14% although this was partially offset by a rise in cattle output of 9%. Overall, this type of farm failed to make a positive return on their agricultural activities with an average loss of £10,400. With the second year of phased reductions, the Basic Payment fell by just over quarter compared to 2021/22. At £12,900 income from agri-environment activities was 4% higher than the previous year; an important income stream for this type of farm, these payments represented just over half of their overall Farm Business Income.

1.6 Specialist Pig Farms

Caution
The Farm Business Survey (FBS) sample for specialist pig farms is relatively small, meaning that individual farms can have a large influence on the results and the results should be treated with caution.

Figure 1.7 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for Pig farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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In 2022/23, the average Farm Business Income for specialist pig farms was £67,900 compared to £11,800 in 2021/22 (Table 1.1 or Figure 1.7 for a comparison to all farms over time). Average prices for both store and finished pigs showed some recovery across the survey period and this was a factor in increasing pig output by 22%. Crop output also rose (by an average of 35%) for pig farms growing crops. However, as with other farm types, these increases were countered by a steep rise in cost for some inputs. Purchased and home grown feed and fodder rose by 24% and 84% respectively (together these accounted for just over 70% of all agricultural costs). There were also rises across a range of fixed costs, most noticeably general farming costs, water and electricity. For specialist pig farms these factors combined resulted in an average return on agricultural activities of £5,900. Income from diversified activity rose by 84% with tourism, food processing and retailing accounting for most of the increase.

Note that these changes should be treated with caution because of the small sample size and the wide confidence intervals. Contract rearers are also well represented in the FBS sample. Business models for contract rearing operations are varied and these types of farms may not be impacted by price variations to the same extent as non contract rearing farms. In 2022/23, there was also a particularly influential specialist pig farm in the sample. Reweighting this farm so it only represents itself in the results would reduce average Farm Business Income for specialist pig farms to approximately £63,000, with an averaged diversified income of approximately £21,000. For more information on weighting see the (Technical note).

1.7 Specialist Poultry Farms

Caution
The FBS sample specialist poultry farms are relatively small, meaning that individual farms can have a large influence on the results, and the results should be treated with caution.

Figure 1.8 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for Poultry farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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Average Farm Business Income on specialist poultry farms fell by nearly a quarter in 2022/23 to £105,900 with increases to input costs outweighing a smaller rise in output. Variable costs were 11% higher with the key driver the increased cost of purchased feed, which typically accounts for the major proportion of variable costs on poultry farms. A fall in fixed costs of 8% was insufficient to compensate for this and overall, agricultural costs rose by 6%. In comparison, output was 4% higher. Output from eggs rose by a third driven by an increase in price and quantity. For quantity, this was in contrast to the trends seen in UK statistics(https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/egg-statistics), which show a decrease in egg production across the survey period. Output from poultry meat enterprises was virtually unchanged compared to 2021/22. These factors resulted in an overall return on agricultural activities of £59,600, a 22% decrease on 2021/22. Income from the other cost centres of diversification, agri-environment payments and the Basic Payment also fell, particularly diversification which was 17% lower, driven largely by a fall in income from the rental of buildings.

Note that these changes for specialist poultry farms should be treated with caution because of the small sample size and the range of enterprises covered by this farm type. For example, there are farms producing broilers, turkeys, ducks and geese and for laying flocks the systems cover organic and conventional free range enterprises as well as enriched cages.

1.8 Mixed Farms

Figure 1.9 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for Mixed farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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Average Farm Business Income on mixed farms fell by 8% to £68,000 in 2022/23 (Table 1.1 or Figure 1.9 for a comparison to all farms over time). The mixed farm type reflects the enterprises found in the other more specialised farm types. Although agricultural output rose by 16%, this was not enough to offset a 17% increase in input costs. The rise in costs was largely driven by higher variable costs which increased by 28% with purchased feed and fodder a key driver and, to a lesser extent, fertiliser and casual labour. Fixed costs were 6% higher compared to 2021/22. Overall, the average return on agricultural activities on mixed farms was £12,600 compared to £16,100 in 2021/22. Payments for agri-environment activities rose by 36% to £10,100, while income from diversified activities was 6% higher at £19,000. On this type of farm, the average Basic Payment fell by a fifth to £26,200 in 2022/23.

1.9 Horticulture Farms

Figure 1.10 Average Farm Business Income (£ per farm) for Horticulture farms in England, 2013/14 to 2022/23

Figure note: The break in the series shown in 2017/18 represents changes in the method used to assign farms to a specific farm type. Where breaks occur, average income has been calculated using both methods for comparability.

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On horticulture farms, average Farm Business Income increased by 58% to £95,600. This was due to a higher output from agricultural and diversified activities combined. Output increased across a range of crops, most notably outdoor and glasshouse flowers, bulbs and nursery stock and outdoor vegetables. This more than offset falls for soft and top fruit enterprises. Many agricultural inputs costs rose steeply, both fixed and variable; seed costs increased by 87% while both contract costs and machinery costs more than doubled and regular labour was 78% higher. However, the rise in agricultural output more than offset these increases. Output from diversified activities, often an important source of revenue for horticulture farms, rose by 69% with renewable energy, other diversified activities and building rental contributing most to the increase. Overall, the net contribution of diversified activities to Farm Business Income increased to £41,200 (Figure 3.1).

2 Distribution of Farm Business Income

Figure 2.1 Distribution of Farm Business Income by farm type in England, 2022/23

Figure notes:

1. The legend is presented in the same order as the bars

2. Due to small sample sizes, the last two categories have been merged for LFA grazing livestock farms; the last category therefore represents ‘£75k and over’

3. Due to small sample sizes, some categories have been merged for specialist pig farms; the categories for pig farms are ‘Less than £0k’, ‘£0 to £49.9k’, ‘£50 to £99.9k’ and ‘£100k and over’

4. Where the value is less than 5%, the label is not shown on the chart

5. The sample sizes for specialist pig and poultry farms are relatively small with average incomes subject to greater variation

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The average values mask the considerable variability in Farm Business Incomes at the farm level, both between and within farm types (Figure 2.1). In 2022/23, 17% of farms failed to make a profit (compared to 9% of farms in 2021/22). However, the proportion was higher for some types, such as lowland grazing livestock, specialist pigs and horticulture. For each of these farm types at least a fifth of farms failed to make a profit. At 65% of farms, dairy had the largest proportion of farms with an income of more than £100,000, while grazing livestock farms (both lowland and LFA) had the lowest proportion. The variation in incomes within farm type reflects different production costs between farms which are influenced by a number of factors such as size, location, soil type etc.

More detailed analysis of farm incomes based on farm performance is provided in Farm Accounts in England. This will be updated with 2022/23 data on 20 December 2023 and published on the GOV.UK website.

3 Farm Business Income by Cost Centre

Figure 3.1 Cost Centre breakdown for Farm Business Income by farm type, 2022/23.

Figure notes:

1. The legend is presented in the same order as the bars (read the top row from left to right, then the bottom row from left to right), except for lowland grazing livestock and LFA grazing livestock farms, where the values for the agriculture cost centre are negative

2. The data shown are the averages across all farms in the sample, including those that do not have any income within some of the cost centres

3. The sample sizes for specialist pig and poultry farms are relatively small with average incomes subject to greater variation

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Farm Business Income can be broken down by cost centre (Figure 3.1) to illustrate the relative contribution to average total Farm Business Income (shown by the marker on each column).

Of the 4 cost centres, income from agricultural activities made the biggest contribution to overall Farm Business Income for cereal, general cropping, dairy, poultry and horticulture farms. On average, all farm types generated a positive return on their farming activities in 2022/23 except lowland and LFA grazing livestock farms.

The progressive reduction to the Basic Payment was introduced in 2021 and the data presented here relates to the second year of reductions. The scale of change to the payment varied by farm type, but across all farms the average payment received was approximately £22,700. This was 19% lower than 2021/22 and, for all farms, the payment accounted for around a quarter of Farm Business Income.

4 Revisions

Forecasts of Farm Business Income for 2022/23 were published in March 2023. These forecasts were based on information available in early February 2023 for prices, animal populations, marketings, crop areas, yields and input costs and were intended as a broad indication of how incomes for each farm type were expected to move compared with 2021/22.

The outturns published here are based on actual survey results from the Farm Business Survey 2022/23. All forecasts except for LFA grazing livestock farms were within the confidence limits of the survey outturns. The average income for LFA grazing livestock farms was higher than forecast due to input cost increases being lower than anticipated.

No forecasts were produced for specialist pig or specialist poultry farms in 2022/23 as these are subject to a considerable degree of uncertainty, reflecting both the structure of these sectors and the relatively small sample of these farms in the Farm Business Survey. These factors, combined with the market uncertainties and extreme price volatility of the last year, meant it was not possible to produce robust forecast estimates.

Table 4.1 Revisions to average Farm Business Income per farm (£/farm) by Type of Farm in England from forecast at current prices.

Farm type	Forecast: March 2023	Outturn: November 2023	Lower confidence limit	Upper confidence limit	Change
Cereals	£134,000	£150,400	£125,700	£175,100	£16,400
General Cropping	£125,000	£125,200	£89,300	£161,100	£200
Dairy	£249,000	£229,200	£201,000	£257,400	-£19,800
Grazing Livestock (Lowland)	£17,000	£21,600	£16,600	£26,500	£4,600
Grazing Livestock (LFA)	£16,000	£25,400	£18,100	£32,700	£9,400
Mixed	£63,000	£68,000	£48,400	£87,600	£5,000

Table notes:

1. Forecasts are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and all other figures are rounded to the nearest £100

2. Confidence limits give an indication of the degree of uncertainty around an estimate. The lower and upper limits show the possible range around the published averages.

5 What you need to know about this release

5.1 Availability of results

All Defra statistical notices can be viewed at:
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs/about/statistics

Results from the Farm Business Survey, including time series in spreadsheet format, can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/farm-business-survey

The next release is expected to be in October/November 2024. The definitive publication date will be announced on the research and statistics webpage on gov.uk.

5.2 Contact details

Responsible statistician: Alison Wray

Public enquiries: fbs.queries@defra.gov.uk

For media queries between 9am and 6pm on weekdays:

Telephone: 0330 041 6560
Email: newsdesk@defra.gov.uk

5.3 National Statistics Status

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. An explanation can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2014. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards (see contact details above). Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

• Reviewed and improved data presentation to better meet accessibility guidelines.

• Automated production of the statistics using Reproducible Analytical Pipelines (RAP).

• Reviewed and improved accompanying commentary.

6 Technical note

6.1 Survey coverage and weighting

The Farm Business Survey (FBS) is an annual survey providing information on the financial position and physical and economic performance of commercial farm businesses in England. It covers all types of farming in all regions of the country and includes owner-occupied, tenanted and mixed tenure farms. The FBS only includes farm businesses with a Standard Output of at least €25,000, based on activity recorded in the previous June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. In 2022/23, this accounted for approximately 52,500 farm businesses. Between 2019/20 and 2021/22 the samples were slightly smaller as a result of Covid-19 restrictions on data collection. Following contractual changes, the 2022/23 sample was 1,350 farms. Data are collected by face to face interviews with farmers, conducted by highly trained researchers.

Each record is given a weight to make the sample representative of the population. Initial weights are applied to the FBS records based on the inverse sampling fraction. These weights are then adjusted by calibrating certain totals to match published totals from other surveys so that they can be used to produce unbiased estimators of a number of different target variables. Any extreme Farm Business Income outliers are investigated and, if necessary, moved into their own strata and given a weight of 1.

More detailed information about the Farm Business Survey and the data collected can be found at: www.gov.uk/farm-business-survey-technical-notes-and-guidance

6.2 Farm type classification

From 2018/19, the classification of farms is based on 2013 standard output coefficients. The 2017/18 results have been recalculated and presented in this release to allow comparability between 2017/18 and 2018/19. The results published here are therefore not directly comparable with those published in earlier years, which are based on previous standard output coefficients.

6.3 Farm Business Income

For non-corporate businesses, Farm Business Income represents the financial return to all unpaid labour (farmers and spouses, non-principal partners and their spouses and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business, including land and buildings. For corporate businesses it represents the financial return on the shareholders capital invested in the farm business.

In essence Farm Business Income is the same as Net Profit, which as a standard financial accounting measure of income is used widely within and outside agriculture. Using the term Farm Business Income rather than Net Profit, gives an indication of the measure’s farm management accounting rather than financial accounting origins, accurately describes its composition and is intuitively recognisable to users as a measure of farm income.

6.4 Accuracy and reliability of the results

In common with other statistical surveys, the published estimates of income from the Farm Business Survey are subject to sampling error, as we are not measuring the whole population.

This publication shows confidence intervals, which are a measure of uncertainty in our estimates. Confidence intervals in this publication are set at a 95% level, meaning that we are 95% sure that the actual estimate lies within the confidence interval. For more information on confidence intervals, the Office for National Statistic has an explainer here: Uncertainty and how we measure it for our surveys - Office for National Statistics.

• The smaller range of possible values that could apply to grazing livestock, dairy, cereal and mixed farm types reflects relatively large sample sizes and the relative homogeneity of these sectors in terms of the range of income levels across the farms in each of these types.

• The range of values that could apply to general cropping and horticulture farm types reflect a more diverse range of agricultural activities, e.g. general cropping is made up of arable crop and field scale vegetable producers, while horticulture includes specialist fruit producers, hardy nursery stock and fruit and vegetables grown in glasshouses. As a result these sectors are less homogeneous in terms of income levels.

• Confidence intervals for specialist pig and poultry farms are affected by the relatively small samples and a huge range in scale of production.

For the Farm Business Survey, the confidence limits shown are appropriate for comparing groups within the same year only; they should not be used for comparing with previous years since they do not allow for the fact that many of the same farms will have contributed to the Farm Business Survey in both years.

Standard errors (and therefore confidence intervals) only give an indication of the sampling error. They do not reflect any other sources of survey errors, such as non-response bias.